The cases of weak eyesight are increasing rapidly among the people of Delhi. According to the report of Delhi AIIMS, about 30 percent of the population of Delhi is suffering from some kind of vision problem. This information has come out in the report of Refractive Error Situation Analysis Tool (RESAT) sent by AIIMS to WHO. This report has been prepared by the Community Ophthalmology Department of Dr. Rajendra Prasad Center for Ophthalmic Sciences of AIIMS.
Dr. Head of the Department of Dr. Rajendra Prasad Center for Ophthalmic Sciences of AIIMS. Praveen Vashist told in a conversation with TV9 Bharatvarsh that the changing lifestyle and excessive use of electronic gadgets like mobile laptop is having a bad effect on the eyes of the people, due to which the vision is becoming weak.
What is RESAT program?
RESAT is a tool prepared by WHO. With its help, the condition of eye diseases, especially vision problems (refractive error) in any area is detected. This tool tells what, how much and what kind of facilities are there for eye treatment in that area. This tool also tells what steps should be taken to improve them.
How many people are affected in Delhi
According to the report, there are about 29.5 percent i.e. about 60 lakh people in Delhi who need glasses, but they are not able to get proper treatment or glasses. These include problems like refractive error and presbyopia. In this, information has also come out according to the people. The number of people above 50 years of age suffering from eye problems is high. Vision related problems have been found in about 70 percent of people of this age. At the same time, myopia (inability to see distant objects clearly) is increasing rapidly among school going children. It has also been revealed in the report that women are less able to get facilities for eye treatment as compared to men.
Lack of eye doctors and facilities
The report also states that the specialists and facilities for eye treatment in Delhi are not as per the population. According to statistics, there are a total of 249 eye care institutions in Delhi. Of these, about 77.5% are private institutions. 14.5% are government institutions. About 8% of the institutions are run by NGOs. At present there are about 1085 eye doctors in Delhi. Apart from this, about 489 optometrists or eye technicians are providing services to the people.
It has also been told in the report that there is a need for 270 eye care centers in Delhi. But there are only 50 centres. Because of this, there is difficulty in eye examination and treatment. In many cases, the disease increases due to not getting tested on time.